Highlights
Science: Nobel Prize honors researchers who showed how ‘handedness’ can emerge in chemistry
08 October 2026Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win award for reactions leading to mirror-image molecules.
Nature: Chemists struggle to ditch hazardous solvents — even after decades of ‘green’ efforts
26 September 2026Laboratories are still using dangerous and carbon-intensive liquids much more often than environmentally friendly ones, according to a 40-year survey of patents.
C&EN: Precise deuteration eases ‘heavy drug’ synthesis
10 September 2026Nickel catalyst swaps hydrogen for deuterium to produce drugs that are metabolized more slowly.
Engineering: Can ‘Superwood’ Replace Concrete and Steel?
25 August 2026Engineered woods aim to curb construction’s climate emissions.
ACS Central Science: These Graphene Experts Are Trying to Close the Reproducibility Gap in Two-Dimensional Materials Research
14 May 2026Too much work on graphene and related materials cannot be repeated — a problem that wastes time and holds back commercialization. New rules could help solve it.
TESTIMONIALS
“As an editor and reporter, Mark Peplow is fast, accurate, and versatile. He covers science policy and pure research with equal passion, and his writing combines a scientist’s precision with a journalist’s verve.” Tim Appenzeller
Former Chief Magazine Editor at Nature, now News Editor at Science
"Mark guided me through some of the most challenging stories I've written. These are pieces I might not have attempted were it not for his steady editorial hand." Linda Nordling
Freelance Journalist, South Africa
“Working with Mark is never anything other than a pleasure. He is the kind of editor that writers hope for: able to identify what needs fixing and what doesn’t, bringing to bear a wealth of knowledge, always clear, prompt and easy to talk with. Much of that comes from being a splendid writer himself.”
Philip Ball
Freelance Science Writer
Category Archives: Highlights
C&EN: Diberyllocene is a Be–Be king
First solid compound to contain a beryllium-beryllium bond could unlock unusual chemistry.
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C&EN: Protein enables better lanthanide separations
A newly discovered form of lanmodulin offers a more efficient way to separate rare earth elements.
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Nature: Skeleton Crew
An explosion of methods to insert, delete or swap single atoms in the cores of molecules could accelerate drug discovery.
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C&EN’s Talented 12: Raúl Hernández Sánchez
This supramolecular chemist uses molecular assemblies to purify water and develop clean energy catalysts.
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C&EN’s Talented 12: Charlotte Vogt
This spectroscopist probes catalysts to accelerate the world’s transition to clean energy.
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C&EN: Chemists think outside the box to craft tricky cubanes
Using cubanes in place of benzene rings could help fine-tune the properties of drug candidates.
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C&EN: Porous pesticide carrier also promotes plant growth
Metal-organic framework deploys avermectins against citrus mites.
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C&EN: Chemists debate how to fuel molecular machines
As researchers develop efficient molecular fuels, they continue to wrestle with the fundamentals of how their machines work.
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C&EN: Copolymer could keep catheters bacteria-free
By reducing biofilm formation and bacterial swarming, this polymer may help to avert common infections.
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C&EN: Chain-link molecules form flexible networks
Catenated covalent organic frameworks could find use as additives or membranes.
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